Factors affecting response actions of the 2020 Taal Volcano eruption among Filipinos in Luzon, Philippines: A structural equation modeling approach

The Taal Volcano eruption was one of the most severe disasters in the Philippines in 2020. The purpose of this study was to determine factors affecting response action of the 2020 Taal Volcano eruption among Filipinos in Luzon, Philippines. Several factors including asset damage, eruption characteristics, disaster experience, socio-demographic characteristics, evacuation characteristics, and perceived severity were analyzed simultaneously by utilizing a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. A total of 501 respondents were collected from Filipinos who lived in Batangas (411 respondents), Manila (82 respondents), and Pampanga (8 respondents). SEM showed that asset damage had the highest effect on perceived severity (β: 0.68; p=0.001), followed by eruption characteristics (β: 0.49; p=0.001) and evacuation characteristics (β: 0.25; p=0.012) while disaster experience and socio-demographic characteristics had no significant effects on perceived severity. This study is the first study that analyzes the perceived severity of the 2020 Taal Volcano eruption. The findings would be very beneficial for researchers and policymakers to reduce the perceived severity of the eruption. Finally, the SEM construct can be applied and extended to determine factors affecting perceived severity of volcanic eruptions in other countries.